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Ivan Demidov is doing well: the people at the airport did not unsettle him
Félix Forget
Ivan Demidov is doing well: the people at the airport did not unsettle him
Credit: Ivan Demidov has finally arrived in Canada tonight. The young player and his girlfriend arrived at Toronto’s airport… and they were greeted by a welcoming committee of habs fans and media on site (including DLC) to cover the event. Here are the pictures we took, in case you haven’t seen them yet: The first images […]
Ivan Demidov has finally arrived in Canada tonight. The young player and his girlfriend arrived at Toronto’s airport… and they were greeted by a welcoming committee of habs fans and media on site (including DLC) to cover the event.

Here are the pictures we took, in case you haven’t seen them yet:

However, the welcoming committee is not unanimously approved. Some find it quite cool to see the young player being welcomed this way, but others, like Darren Dreger, find it intense.

It’s intense and unusual according to North American standards, but no, it won’t break the kid.

For those who doubt it, look at Demidov’s reaction when he saw the people welcoming him: he smiled and waved at them. He looked like a guy who knew what to expect, and above all, a guy in perfect control, especially for someone who had just gotten off a 10-hour flight.

If all this had happened in Montreal and thousands of fans had been on site, maybe the young player would have been uncomfortable. But today, he was greeted by… a few dozen people at most.

It’s not different from what he will experience when fans ask him for autographs during a practice… but since people don’t usually see this, it strikes the imagination, and that’s normal.

The Canadiens knew this was a strong possibility (it’s not for nothing that we had planned for it with a large security contingent), even by sending him to Toronto. Moreover, it’s the habs who asked him not to speak tonight: we want to wait until it’s done during a press conference.

This allows us to better control the message and relieve some pressure on the young player’s shoulders.

And clearly, seeing how much it’s been reacting since the beginning of the evening on social media, we understand that it’s something that interests people. Listening to a live broadcast but being offended by a group of people being on site is… particular.

The whole thing lasted, roughly, two minutes in total. No, two minutes of fans waiting for him and following him at the airport won’t break a kid who is already used to being a star everywhere he goes and having the spotlight on him.

And precisely, for a young player like Demidov who is already quite used to all this, we can think that it may have motivated him more than anything else.

It’s not for nothing that the habs selected him: they believe he’s capable of handling a market like Montreal’s.

Let’s all take a moment to breathe: Demidov is fine, he wasn’t destabilized by what happened, and he’ll get over it.

Instead, let’s be happy that he has his feet in Canada rather than in Russia and that he’s just a few days away from making his debut in the Canadiens’ uniform. That’s what matters most.


Overtime

– I couldn’t have said it better.

– Speaking of Demidov.

– That would be cool!

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